It is ridiculous to suppose that prayer could nullify the Word of God. If that were possible, we would not be praying to the God of the Bible. Do we really think we could dupe the Holy God into giving us anything that by his exacting standards is unholy, or that he would invite us to pray for such things?

The unspiritual side of us, however, keeps hoping to avoid God’s way and find some cozy alternative. Alarmingly, the Deceiver has gleefully prepared many such options for those who prefer the easy road that leads to destruction, while smugly convinced they have got away with it.

For example, we are sometimes so dominated by greed and self-centeredness as to twist God’s Word by ripping fragments of Scripture out of context about prayer without even realizing what we are doing. Consider this favorite Scripture:

Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
(Emphasis mine)

It is time to check your medication if you imagine this verse is telling you how to manipulate God or get your own way.

To delight in God is to take your eyes off yourself and lose yourself in the majesty and purity of God. Anyone delighting in God loves him so much that he/she would never knowingly ask for anything that grieves or disappoints God. You would be so passionate about God that pleasing him means more to you than life or pain-avoidance or anything else you could ever crave. We see this exemplified in Jesus: despite being so horrified by the consequences that sweat dripped from him like blood, our Role Model prayed, “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done.”

“Teach us how to pray,” the disciples had pleaded, and yet they slept through the greatest example of all.

Taken from Prerequisites for Answered Prayer: When Faith & Prayer Do Not Work

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